Eyes
by BonesDon'tMelt
Summary: Robin muses over the importance of seeing other's eyes and whether or not he should risk showing his to his friends. Oneshot.


AN: So... A vague idea popped into my head about two hours before I published this and I just sat down and word-vomited all over he paper. Hope it's not too disconnected and weird.

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Robin knew the importance of eyes.

Batman had always told him they were one of the best ways to tell if someone was lying. Alfred had said a couple different things; that they told how people really felt about you through expressions, that sometimes they trick you, and that sometimes they ignore things that they don't want to see. What he heard, or rather read, most was that they were the windows to the soul.

Out of all of those, he liked the last function best.

The others were very logical, and helpful as well. People had a hard time getting away with lying to him because of that, even something as simple as whether or not a person liked him. Not that he ever particularly cared if they did or not; in his job, he was bound to rack up some enemies. But it was the last one that helped the most. He liked looking at people's eyes; seeing the particular sheen or sparkle that told whether they were kindhearted or stone-cold, merry or serious. Every single pair was different, not a single one exactly like another, but some could be similar.

There were eyes like beast boy's. His had a sparkle to them; one that said he was a light hearted and kind soul. They were bright with his mirth and darted around with the excitement of a puppy. But if one looked closely, as Robin always did, that wasn't exactly true. The brightness, while genuine, was used to cover up a hardness that reflected his usually-hidden serious side.

Cyborg's eye, the one that was still human, had a similar look to beast boy's, but the hardness brought about by the accident that made him part-robot was more prominent. Robin suspected that was because of the relative newness of his anomaly.

Raven's eyes, at first, were highly disconcerting. They were blank, emotionless, as if the girl _had_ no soul. Despite that, Robin invited her to join the Teen Titans because she had helped them without any promise of compensation; Alfred and Batman had both agreed that sometimes the well-trained could fake or hide even the emotions in their eyes after all. It quickly became apparent that raven was not a cold-hearted uncaring shell of a person, as her eyes seemed to suggest, and once the truth about her father came out it was obvious as to why they appeared that way. Robin doubted that anyone in the universe had eyes like hers.

Starfire's eyes were the ones he liked to look at the most. She didn't hide anything; she didn't cover her anger with a smile or her hurt with mirth. Her eyes were truly a window to her soul, her feelings, and her whole self. Such a beautiful soul it was too; no matter the situation, she always had her kindness shining through. Whether that kindness was in the form of a laugh or her righteous fury on behalf of others, it was always there.

Robin's greatest regret was not being able (or, rather, willing) to show his team his eyes.

But it had been so long since he had really looked at his own, he wasn't even sure what they would look like. Between the death of his parents, all of the terror he had been through with batman, and the madness Slade had managed to instill in his soul, he wasn't sure what they would even look like anymore. He had done his best not to look too closely at his eyes at all since his last mission with Batman. Neither of them were the same after that.

He hoped, one day, he could show them. He hoped that one day he could be confident enough in his own eyes to take off his mask; one day after the danger of them knowing his secret identity had passed, if that ever happened.

"Robin?" Came the tentative voice of Starfire.

"Hm?" He replied with a blink to clear his mind. It seemed he had been staring, silently, at the other Titans as he thought. They were all looking at him expectantly, as if he had been asked a question.

"Beast boy asked what manner of visual entertainment you would prefer," she informed him, pointing over to their green friend, who gleefully raised up two movies. Robin only glanced them for a moment before pointing to the action/adventure option rather than the comedy that beast boy undoubtedly wanted.

"Aw, come on!" Beast boy whined as Cyborg laughed.

"Ha! Told you he'd agree with me!" He grinned, grabbing the movie and running over to their large TV. Robin smirked at the sight; of course they had made him the deciding vote. On his way over to the couch, he stopped next to Raven. She looked as if she was torn between staying to mock beast boy when he inevitably screamed and leaving to save herself the headache of her friends.

"You coming?" He inquired, raising an eyebrow. She was still hesitant. "That movie has a bit of horror in it too, and Cyborg can make us all waffles," he wheedled. Raven raised an eyebrow right back at him, slightly insulted that that was what he thought would convince her to hang out with them. Though, if it was horror then she had even more to make fun of beast boy for. And she did like waffles.

Robin let loose a slight smile when Raven let out a heavy sigh, signaling that he had won and she would stay.

"Robin! You coming?" Cyborg yelled from the couch, causing said boy wonder to turn. His team was all sitting on the couch, all waiting for him before starting the movie.

He grinned, taking a running jump and landing on the couch between Starfire and Cyborg.

"We may begin, for all of our friends are present!" Starfire exclaimed happily.

"Booya!" Cyborg agreed, pressing the start button on the remote control that he had wrestled from beast boy (who, after that last incident, wasn't allowed to turn into anything bigger than himself in the tower unless it was an emergency) only moments before.

Robin watched his team rather than the TV as the movie began, contented smile creeping onto his face.

If the time ever came that he could show them who he really was without putting them all in danger, he would do it in a heartbeat. No matter the consequences to himself, he couldn't lie to his team if they wouldn't be put in danger because of it.

Yes, he would show them, eventually.

But as for now, he would enjoy the time with his family without worrying about the future.

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All feedback (other than blatant rudeness) appreciated!


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